


Brotherly Comfort

by Melwa_Rat



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Brotherly Affection, Clone Troopers Speak Mando'a (Star Wars), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Clone Troopers (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melwa_Rat/pseuds/Melwa_Rat
Summary: "Heavy clouds rolled in over the battlefield as the dying took their final breaths. Their souls ascended into the gray sky, and soon raindrops poured down to wash away blood from their lifeless bodies. The rain had no idea of the horrors that had just occurred. Had no idea of the violence, death, or destruction; no idea of the explosion that had just killed 26 nameless shinies."Ahsoka Tano is left traumatized after she is the only survivor in an explosion. It's a good thing that she has her brothers Rex, Fives, and Echo to comfort her through the pain.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. All Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo guys! I've seriously been craving some good Ahsoka and clones fluff, so here's a story I came up with last night that does just that! In my head, this takes place near the start of season three, but really could work in any timeline season one through five. I hope you guys enjoy!! :)

(CW: Depictions of gore and violence.)

Heavy clouds rolled in over the battlefield as the dying took their final breaths. Their souls ascended into the gray sky, and soon raindrops poured down to wash away blood from their lifeless bodies. 

The rain had no idea of the horrors that had just occurred. Had no idea of the violence, death, or destruction; no idea of the explosion that had just killed 26 nameless shinies. It was just rain, and no man-made tragedy could stop it from falling. 

Ahsoka Tano understood that. Nothing could stop nature. But as she sat all alone in the middle of those 26 men, she wished that she could, because according to her teachings, death was a part of it. 

“There is no death, there is the force.” She whispered hoarsely. 

Ahsoka looked down at the wreckage beneath her. Too many pairs of lifeless eyes stared back at her, and her heart began to hammer ruthlessly in her chest. “There is no death…There is the f-force” She repeated. 

The bomb had been far enough away that no one saw it, but when it had gone off, it was close enough to have killed them all. 

“T-There is no death- the force…”

And she had found them. 

“There i-is… kriff… no death.” 

She’d collapsed to the ground, and there she stayed. 

“No death.” 

The mangled, blown up bodies scared her more than anything in the galaxy, but she felt glued in place, trapped. She couldn’t leave them… She just couldn’t.

“N-No dea-death..” 

She repeated the mantra from the Jedi Code over and over again until her shaking arms were wrapped around herself and she was sobbing for the men whom she barely knew. 

When Rex found Ahsoka, it was all he could do not to double over and hurl into his helmet. 

She was a while away, but he could see her sitting all alone in the freezing rain, her arms shaking as she hugged herself weakly. It was even more disturbing when he noticed she was surrounded by dead bodies- or at least what was left of them. 

There must have been an explosion, Rex thought grimly when he squinted and saw the arms, legs, and even a few karking heads that lay scattered in the mud. 

“Oh Sith Hells.” Echo cursed behind him. 

Usually, Rex would snap at his brothers to watch their language around their young commanding officer, but they were far enough away from her. 

It took a few seconds for Rex to compose himself before he turned back to Echo, forcing his brave face on.

“Call the boys, Vod. Tell them we finally found her.” 

“A-Anything else, Sir?” 

Rex thought for a moment, then nodded. “Get back to the ships and try to find a thermal blanket for the Commander. She must be freezing her montrals off.” He said. 

He looked uncertain to leave, but Rex pointed towards the ships. 

Though Echo was only younger than him by a few months, Rex still felt protective over him in the way that any older brother would be. He knew he should be the one to get Ahsoka, to walk closer to their dead brothers. Not Echo. 

He seemed to understand, and then he was nodding, saying, “Right, Captain. Be careful with her, okay?” 

“Promise.” Rex answered before Echo gave a little salute and they went their separate ways. Echo back to the others, and Rex to Ahsoka. 

He only had to walk a few feet forwards before her head turned towards him. He didn’t know if it was her advanced hearing or force sensitivity that made her notice him, but he didn’t care. He was rushing to her side as fast as he could. 

“Commander? Commander, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

He had to hold his breath and step over a few clones to get to her and kneel at her side. “Are you alright?” 

That was a dumb question. 

The kid looked petrified, her arms wrapped around herself and her lip quivering. “I-I couldn’t save them, Rex.” She whispered, her voice icy and cold. She held out her hands so he could see their brothers’ blood staining them. “I practically killed them.” 

Rex bit back a curse. No teenager’s hands should ever be coated with that horrible shade of red. Instead of letting out his anger, he gently pushed her hands back down into her lap, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault kid. I’m sure there was nothing you could do.” 

When she didn’t answer, he clasped her shoulder, and told her the same thing Cody had told him a million times, “The soldiers who died would never blame you. You didn’t kill anyone.” 

Her chin trembled at that, and she just nodded. She was quiet, too quiet. 

Rex wanted her to talk to him, to let it all out so that she wouldn’t look like she was so in pain, but he knew that this was hardly the environment for that. He’d have to take her someplace safe. 

“You know Kix would have a fit if he saw us sitting in the rain?” He started.

He expected her to laugh, to remark that their overprotective medic would probably have a fit no matter what she did, but she just raised her shoulders in a small shrug. 

It was clear that the explosion had messed with her head. 

“Well, it’s a good thing that we’re gonna get you warm and dry before he can find out, huh?” Rex knelt down so he was at her eye level, and in the most gentle voice he could muster, he asked, “You ready to go home, Vod’ika?” 

Her expression stayed perfectly blank, and for a second he thought she hadn’t heard him, but then she nodded, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Can we go to the clone barracks?” 

“Of course. You’re welcome there anytime, ‘Soka.”


	2. Confusion and Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka is tired and confused after dealing with such a traumatic experience. It's up to her brothers to help her.

Ahsoka wasn’t really sure when it was that she fell asleep. 

She knew that she had been in a gunship, and that there was a soft blanket on her shoulders and hands on her back. People had been whispering things about her, things she couldn’t quite make out. They were being too quiet. She tried to listen, but somewhere along the line her heavy eyes had drooped closed. 

When they opened again, Rex’s blurry face was right in front of hers. “Commander, c’mon. We’re home.”

She groaned and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She wasn’t really sure what he meant by home, but she didn’t want to get up. She was too tired. “Hmm, sleep…” 

“A gunship floor is no place to sleep. Now up. We’d rather not carry you.” Came another clone’s voice. She didn’t care enough to open her eyes and see who it was. Why were they bothering her anyway? 

An annoying hand prodded her shoulder, “Hey, we’re at the barracks.” 

The barracks? She vaguely remembered talking about going there. It had been raining, and Rex was there, and there was something on the ground. What was on the ground again? 

Ahsoka’s eyes fluttered open, this time meeting three clones. Fives, Echo, and Rex. “W-Wha was on the ground?” She mumbled. 

Rex and Fives shared nervous glances, and Echo sighed. “We’ll talk about it when we get inside. Now, let’s go.” 

One of them grasped her elbow, trying to pull her to her feet, but she quickly shoved his hand away. “No! There, there was something on the ground! I have to know, I-” She didn’t know why she was so upset about the stupid ground, but there was something wrong. Something really wrong, and she had to get answers. “There was something- something bad! Tell me what it was!” 

This time two hands came down on her shoulders and Rex was frowning again. “You’ll remember later, but you’re too tired right now, Little ‘Un.” 

Her eyebrows crossed. She was so confused. 

She had no clue what had happened, where she was, or what was going on. 

“We have to leave the ship. I’m going to pick you up now if that’s alright.” She wasn’t sure who it was that was talking, but she just nodded blankly, not making a sound as one of their arms slipped behind her back, and the other under her thighs to lift her up. 

“Arms around my neck, Little ‘Un.” The voice commanded gently. From the use of her nickname she knew it was Rex. Rex was the one carrying her. She glanced up and saw him looking down at her patiently, and she remembered his request. 

“Oh, right.” She slurred, then brought her arms up loosely around the man’s neck so she wouldn’t fall. She let her eyes fall shut again as Rex walked, but stayed awake, feeling her body shift up and down with each step he took. 

“This’ll be the longest I’ve seen the kid sit still.” Five’s voice echoed next to her. “Usually she’s bouncin’ off the walls.” 

“That’s cause she’s sick, Vod.” Echo snapped. 

Rex was next to speak up. She could feel his voice vibrating against his chest more than she heard it. “She’s not sick, she’s just tuckered out. She went through a lot out there.” 

What had she gone through exactly? 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The walk through the barracks was loud. 

Ahsoka had always hated loud noises due to her sensitive hearing. After battles, Anakin would always have to take her to a quiet place if he could, and he would only speak to her through their force bond until the aching in her lekku stopped. 

But Anakin wasn’t there now, and she had to just put up with the sound of chatting clones until Rex and the others carried her into one of the back rooms and it was quiet again. She opened her eyes. 

The dimly lit room was small. 

She was pretty sure that it used to be some sort of walk-in closet, judging by its size. Now, it was instead equipped with one small cot and an enormous pile of white, government issued pillows and blankets. 

“We’re home now, Commander.” Rex said as he slowly eased himself onto the floor, still holding her tightly in his lap when he sat down against the cot. She was glad he didn’t let her go. He was warm. Warm and safe.

She pressed her body closer to his, realizing that he wasn’t wearing the top half of his armor, just the black undersuit. He must have taken it off on the gunship when she was sleeping. 

...The gunship. 

“Guys, why were we on a gunship?” Ahsoka asked quietly, her voice shaking. 

Fives and Echo settled down next to Rex, staring at her with sad eyes. Why did they look sad? Why weren’t they answering her? 

She let out a small, nervous laugh. “Guys, come on. What happened?” 

No one responded. Instead, a gloved hand settled on her back- Echo’s hand. “Commander, you should really rest.” 

She didn’t want to rest. She wanted answers. “But I-” 

“Shh, your master is gonna want to see you early next morning. Get some sleep.” Echo said. There was some shuffling and then one of the blankets from the cot behind them was draped over her and Rex. Why weren’t they listening to her?! 

She felt like she was on the other side of an airlock, like there was glass between her and her friends, and they couldn’t hear her pleas. 

Tears started forming in her weary eyes. She didn’t understand any of this. She’d woken up in med-bays and prison cells before, confused as she was now, but someone always explained to her what happened. 

Was it that bad that they couldn’t tell her? She strained her mind, trying to just pick out one piece of her lost memories, but she failed and let out a pained cry. 

Rex tightened his hold on her, “Woah, what’s wrong?” He asked. 

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! How do you not see?!” She yelled. “I-I I’m tired, and scared, and I don’t kriffing remember anything!” Her chest heaved up and down, tears rolling down her face. She wasn’t going to let them keep treating her like a child. She deserved to know what she wanted. 

Her voice was a near whisper when she repeated, “Please… Please, what happened? What was on the ground back there?” 

There was a tense beat of silence, then, “Ahsoka, there was an explosion.” 

“Oh…” 

Oh. 

Something clicked and it all started to come back to her. 

She remembered the sound of the blast. 

Remembered the heat. 

The smoke. 

The screams. Oh force, the screams were so loud. 

She had been able to jump away from the explosion with the force, but the small squad she was with weren’t. 

They died. 

All of them. 

“...T-There is no death, there is the force.” She whispered into her Captain’s shirt. 

That’s what she was saying after it happened, wasn’t it? It’s what she was repeating over and over while she was sitting in the middle of all the clones. 

Clones… Dead clones… That’s what was on the ground. That’s what was so wrong. 

A soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts, “We are so, so sorry.” It was Fives. He started rubbing slow, soothing circles onto her shoulder that only made her cry harder. “T-They didn’t even have names yet…” 

“I’m sure some of them did.” Echo reassured her. His voice was low and quiet like Fives’ was. “Even before my superior officers and I accepted my name, all the other cadets still called me Echo.” 

Ahsoka remembered them telling her about that. About how Heavy, Droidbate, Cutup, and Fives named him Echo cause he was always repeating orders. It was a funny story they used to tell her whenever she was upset. 

Those dead men also had so many stories to tell, but they were permanently silenced. 

She found herself sobbing again, and Rex put a hand on the back of her third lek. He pushed gently until her head was tucked in the crook of his neck and she was able to cry into his shirt. Able to hide from the world just for a moment. 

“It hurts.” 

“I know.” He murmured. “I know, but that’s why we’re here.” 

“We’ve got you, Vod’ika. You’re not alone anymore.” 

Fives was right. She wasn’t sitting in the rain all on her own anymore. She was with her brothers, and they were keeping her safe and sound. They were there for her, always. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading! Love you lots!


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